Judge refuses to throw out Perry indictment, case will proceed
AUSTIN – A state judge on Tuesday refused to throw out an indictment accusing former Gov. Rick Perry of abusing his veto authority to try to force out a local prosecutor.
Perry, who is actively eyeing another presidential bid, was indicted last summer. The charges stem from his 2013 threat to veto funding for a public corruption unit overseen by Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg unless she resigned after a drunken-driving arrest.
Huffington Post:
In a 60-page motion filed in August, Perry's legal team argued that the law being used to prosecute the longest-serving governor in Texas history is unconstitutionally vague and decried "attempts to convert inescapably political disputes into criminal complaints."
Richardson had previously refused to toss the case on a series of technicalities Perry's lawyers raised, including questioning whether the special prosecutor assigned to the case, San Antonio attorney Michael McCrum, was properly sworn in.
A grand jury in Austin — a liberal enclave in otherwise largely conservative Texas — indicted Perry. If convicted, the former governor faces a maximum 109 years in prison. He calls the matter a political witch hunt and says he would issue the veto again if given the chance.